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Ashton wakes up by the sun hitting his face not so gently, groaning, the curly headed lad rolls to the other side of the bed, only to lie there for some time and realize he can’t go back to sleep. Checking his phone, Ashton decides that 8:37am is good enough to start the day. He climbs off the bed and puts on his loafers, stretching a little and then making his way to the bedroom next to his.
Opening the door as quietly as he can, the first thing he notices is the bundle of blankets that covers the boy beneath them, making sure he is still asleep, he make his way out of the room, leaving the door wide open. After brushing his teeth,he heads to the kitchen to prepare breakfast for both of them.
Now drinking from his coffee, the hazel-eyed settles for making pancakes, with the thought that they are the other boy’s favorite food.
When everything is done, he walks down the hall to the room that belongs to the youngest of them and steps inside. "Hey there Lukey" he says softly noticing that the blond was sitting awake in the bed, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand. "You slept well?" He continues as he sits on the bed. The boy doesn't respond and instead crawls to Ashton’s lap, clinging to him, making the adult chuckle, the vibrations coming of his chest provoking the smallest boy to snuggle into the other's neck, hugging him tighter. Ashton holds him for a bit and then proceeds to stand up, the other still tightly wrapped around him with his head in Ashton’s shoulder, "Breakfast is ready baby, do you need a change before you brush your teeth?" Feeling the other shake his head, he takes them to the bathroom and sets him down on the toilet lid, "Alright Lukey, brush your teeth and then come to eat. Don’t take too long or the food will get cold okay?" With only a nod as response, he kisses the boy’s temple and goes to put the table for them, stopping in his room to grab his phone.
"Morning" the blue eyed boy says as he enters the room, voice still raspy from his sleep, and sits in the table. "Good morning baby, finally awake already?" Ashton replies as he sets the pancakes in front of the pouting boy, letting out a small chuckle and sitting beside him, his own plate in front of him. They ate in silence as usual, a feeling of peace filling the air. When they are done, Ashton picked up the dishes and starts washing them, while the blond just stared at him. "Thanks for the food Ash" he says as he let his head fall to his folded arms over the table, his cheek resting in one of them.
The older responds with a hum, "You’re welcome baby, you liked it?"
"Yeah, it was good."
After finishing the dishes, the eldest took a milk bottle from the fridge and put it in the microwave, setting the time and turning back to the blond boy who was distractedly sucking on his thumb while his other hand was playing with the curly headed lad’s phone.
"Luke!" the called boy startles and looks up at the other with wide eyes, mouth a little ajar and his thumb mostly dangling from his lips now.
"How many times have I tell you to not put your fingers in your mouth, that’s very anti hygienic!" He says scolding the young boy with a hand on his hip and the other supported on the table next to him. "Sorry" the small boy replies sheepishly, taking his finger out with his head down. The moment is interrupted by the noise made for the microwave indicating the time was up. Ashton turns to it and then to Luke again, walking to him and picking him up from the chair, holding him on his hip, he takes the bottle and make his way to the living room, sitting on the sofa with Luke on his lap. "Where did you left your dummy hm?" he asked in a softer tone compared to the one before. When the other boy only shrugs his shoulders as response, he sighs and puts the bottle next to them, wrapping an arm around the blond boy’s lower back, and the other coming to pat the golden and messy hair. "You have to tell me when you want to use it okay? So I don’t have to be nagging at you, you know I hate to do that, makes me feel like an old man" he says making the younger boy giggle. "Okay", he mostly whispers. "Aw come on that doesn’t sound very convincing!" he exclaims while tickling the boy. "Okay okay I will!" The boy replies between laughter. "That’s more like it".
He signaled the boy to move so he would be sitting in his lap but this time across him, legs resting in the sofa, leaning the side of his body against Ashton, his head nuzzling his neck. The eldest wrapped his arm around the young boy, pressing him more to his body. He brought the tip of the bottle to the younger’s mouth, and watched as he took it, drinking from it. "Good boy" he says with a smile. The boy reaches out to grab onto Ashton’s shirt with both of his hands, a habit that the older lad always found completely endearing.
"There you go baby" Ashton said as he removed the now empty bottle from Luke’s mouth, putting it beside him and raising his thumb to clean the blue-eyed boy’s lips, and then wiping it on his pants. Just as he was going to stand up, Luke moved in his lap to straddle him, he stands up and bends down to set the boy on the sofa, this one starting to make a fuss. "Noo! Don’t go!" He whined, clinging to the back of Ashton’s shirt. "Hey hey, its okay baby I’m just going to wash the bottle and I’ll come back yeah?" He hushed the boy, a hand going to his blond hair, pushing it to the side. "Fine" he huffed, letting go of Ashton’s shirt.
Coming back from the kitchen, the first thing he notices is Luke laying on the floor, holding himself with both of his forearms, looking under the small table in front of the sofa. "Luke why are you on the floor?" He said in a bit of an exasperated tone. He hadn’t cleaned in probably a week, not finding the energy to do so after coming home tired from work, and he wasn’t planning on doing it today either. "The floor is dirty."
He lifted Luke up and wiped each of his hands swiftly. "There’s my dummy Ashton!" the younger exclaimed, signaling under the table. Ashton saw where he was pointing and turned again to put the boy on the sofa, he knelt down supporting one of his hands on the wooden surface while his forearm held his weight, spotting the green pacifier under the small table. "How in the world did that get there?" He questioned while reaching for it. "I want it please" the younger of them said, reaching to grab it from the adult’s hand, looking up when he pulled away. "Not this one baby, this is dirty, and I think you already used it too much, I’m gonna get the new one from your room yeah?" He said, not really waiting for an answer.
"No, I want this one" he responded in a frustrated tone, trying again to reach for it from the other’s hand, failing as he removed it from his reach "No Luke, wait here just a second" he said sternly, ignoring the frown sent his way. Going to Luke’s room, he threw away the old dummy in the bin and opened the drawer of the bedside table to put out the light blue new pacifier.
Entering the room where Luke was once again, he saw that he had turned the tv on and was now watching it. "Here Lukey boy, a new and fresh dummy" he said, showing the blue dummy to the boy, "I want the other one" he mumbled without taking his eyes off the screen. Letting out a sigh, the curly headed put himself in front of the tv, earning a groan from the other. "Luke, you’re not being nice right now, you can either take the dummy that’s exactly like the other or not have anything, and don’t even think I’m letting you suck your thumb" he said calmly, knowing Luke was just having some of his morning grumpiness. Looking up at him, the blond decided to just give up, opening his mouth, letting the older to put the dummy there and sucked on it. Smiling, Ashton sat next to him, immediately getting a lap full of Luke. He wrapped his arms around the boy and hugged him tightly; letting one of his arms on Luke's lower back and reaching the remote control with the other, changing the tv.
They sat there quietly, Luke clinging to Ashton, playing with the curls at the back of his neck and the hazel-eyed man rubbing his hand on the boy’s back while watching tv, sometimes stopping his movements to start again after a little while.
After some time, Ashton started feeling the caresses in his hair beginning to cease until they stopped completely. "Baby?" He said softly, receiving no response, he confirmed his suspicious that the boy had fallen asleep on him. He smiled and nuzzled his face in the younger’s shoulder, tightening the grip he had on him, he kissed the side of his head and lightened his grip, continuing to watch the tv.
The older lad was so into the paranormal show he was watching that he didn't hear the small whimpers coming from the sleeping boy, but he in fact noticed when he started pulling at his hair and the way he was pressing himself more against Ashton. At first, he thought Luke was having a nightmare, until he felt the warm on his lap, obviously coming from the boy, catching up with the situation. Ashton was somewhat surprised at first, it has been a while since Luke had had an accident while sleeping, but seeing as he hasn't used his nappy since the day before and it was already noon today, adding the fact that the boy was a heavy sleeper, he couldn't blame him at all.
The hazel-eyed got up as carefully as he could; picking the dummy that had fallen from the boy’s lips and walked to Luke’s room, with him in his arms. Stepping inside, he put the boy on the bed, trying to not wake him up. Putting the pacifier in the bedside table, he started taking off Luke’s sweat pants slowly, looking for a sign of waking up in the boy’s face, finding none, he remembered himself that the boy had slept through that time when he accidentally turned on the music with the volume at its highest while Luke had been taking a nap. Luke didn't even flinch, while Ashton had given himself a headache.
Having grabbed a blanket in the drawer at the side of the room, he lifted the lower part of the boy by the hips with one arm and accommodated the blanket under him with the other, lowering him cautiously. The hazel-eyed collected the supplies and put them on the bed, taking some wipes to clean his hands. He proceeded then to change the boy, cleaning his hands once again when he was done and put the pants back in the still sleeping Luke.
After getting rid of the damp nappy, the older lad began to save the supplies used. He was interrupted by a small groan, turning around; he saw the younger of them leisurely opening his eyes. "Ash" the blue-eyed said, rolling his body to lay face down on the bed, moving his head to stare at Ashton. "What are you doing?" He asked, voice muffled by his pillow, he let an arm dangle from the bed. "I was saving some stuff baby" the older answered, closing the drawer and walking towards the boy, sitting next to him. He extended a hand to caress the blond boy’s hair, grinning as Luke closed his eyes at the touch. "You had an accident while sleeping Lukey" the curly-headed said, not finding a better way of putting it, recalling the fact that Luke hated having accidents. Apparently it gives him the feeling that he is being ‘bad’ for not telling Ashton. A nonsense in the older’s eyes really.
The blue-eyed snapped his eyes open, looking at the older and lowering his gaze immediately, "I'm sorry" he said, raising a hand to put his thumb in his mouth, being interrupted by Ashton’s hand, who took the pacifier of the bedside table and gave it to him. "You don’t have to be sorry sweetie, it was just an accident, just thought I should've let you know; if you were wondering why we were in your room" he reassured the boy, who was sucking on the dummy, not really paying attention of what he was saying. He saw as the boy reached with both of his hands to grab one of his larger ones, and started playing with his fingers mindlessly. "What hour is it please?" He asked around the pacifier, looking at the older and intertwining their fingers together, "Must be like, one or something baby" he responded, noticing that he had let his phone in the other room.
"You hungry Lukey?" He lifted his free hand to caress the boy’s cheek with the back of his fingers, receiving a nod as response. "Well then, I guess I’ll go-''
"I wanna play with you Ash" the blue-eyed boy said, interrupting the older, he sat straight up, crossing his legs and going back to playing with the hazel-eyed fingers. "But I thought you were hungry baby" Ashton told the boy, resting his other hand in Luke’s knee. "But I wanna play with you please" the younger boy whined, looking up at Ashton with a pout on his face, earning a chuckle from him. "Alright what do you want to play?" he asked with a smile, making the younger grin. Looking around the room, he saw the box of Legos in the corner and got up to get them. Ashton moved to rest his back on the headboard, putting the pillows at his side.
When Luke came back, he jumped to the bed, earning a scold from the older, which he ignored, making Ashton shake his head in surrender. The blue-eyed set himself in between Ashton’s spread legs, his back against the other’s chest, emptying the content of the box in front of him. "What are we going to build this time?" The hazel-eyed asked, resting his chin in the boy’s shoulder.
"You’re really bad at this" the blond boy said, taking the Lego ship and crawling away of Ashton to the end of the bed, sitting there. "What?" The older responded in an indignant tone. "It’s not my fault these things are impossible to fit in each other" he said, dropping the blocks in surrender. "They’re not" the boy mumbled to himself, even though the older heard him.
"Luke, don’t sit so close to the edge, you could fall please" he warned the boy, who again, ignored him and continued trying to build the ship in his lap. "Luke-" Ashton started with a scolding tone, when he was interrupted by a ringing sound. Recognizing it as the call tone of his phone, he got up, lifting the boy up and moving him to the spot where he was sat before, provoking a small groan from him, he left the room saying a quick "Stay there, I'll be right back."
Instead of returning soon as promised, Ashton stayed on the phone longer than expected, leaving Luke alone. He could hear the older lad talking at the end of the hall, but not clear enough to understand what he was saying. Standing up from the bed, he started looking for his tri-colored hacky sack around the room. Not finding it, he got on the floor in his hands and knees to look for it under the bed, when he spotted it; he lay down on the surface to reach for it. Just before he could extend his arm, the boy was startled when he felt a pair of strong hands lifting him up from behind and sitting him on the bed.
"Didn’t I tell you to not get on the floor Luke? Do I have to put you in time out for you to understand?" Ashton said with a harsh tone, reprimanding the younger boy, hands on his hips. The boy just lowered his head, a blush covering his pale cheeks, always present when he was harshly chastised. "I’m sorry, I just wanted to get my hacky sack that's under the bed" he whispered quietly. "Whatever Luke" the curly-headed said with annoyance, making Luke flinch. He reached to grab the ball, wiping the dust off of it and handing it to the blue-eyed boy, who took it with a silent ‘Thank you’, still looking down. "I’m going to make lunch, are you gonna stay here or are you coming with me?" He questioned the boy who shrugged as response, trying to shrink himself as much as he could, not wanting to disturb more the adult. Ashton let out a sigh and took Luke in his arms without a word, and made his way to the living room, where he set the boy down on the couch and left to the kitchen.
After an hour and-something, Ashton had already forgotten the small incident between him and Luke. He called him to the kitchen while he set his plate on the table, and then sitting in his chair.
When the blond boy arrived, he sat next to him, mumbling a small ‘Thanks’ he removed his dummy and placed it on the table next to his plate. They ate quietly, but Ashton could feel something different in the silent atmosphere around them, Luke wasn’t eating as eagerly as always, instead, chewing his food slowly and then dragging the fork across the plate. Just as he was going to ask the boy if there was a problem, he raised his head and looked at him with timid eyes, dropping his gaze when they made contact with the other’s.
"I’m very sorry for disobeying you Ashton, I have no excuse, I should have grabbed any other toy" The younger said sadly, his hands fumbling with the edges of his shirt. Ashton stared at him with a confused expression for a moment, until realization came in, remembering what had happened earlier, and how he had treated the boy, obviously making him upset. He wanted to punch himself. "Aw baby" he cooed, rising from his chair, he picked the boy up, sitting back with the boy across his lap, "I’m so sorry Lukey, I got mad over a call I got and snapped at you, you didn’t deserve that at all" he apologized. "You know you are my good boy, right?" Ashton said; rubbing Luke’s back tenderly. The boy shook his head as response and reached to hold the older’s shirt between his hands.
"Yes you are. Can you forgive me please?", Luke wasn’t sure why he would have to forgive him, since it was him that had misbehaved, so he just nodded, giving Ashton a small smile, who returned it and cupped the side of the boy’s face with his hand, bringing his head closer to him and planting a kiss in his temple, mumbling a ‘Thank you baby’ against him. Instead of returning back to his seat, Luke turned in Ashton’s lap and moved his plate closer. The curly-headed chuckled and wrapped one of his arms around the boy. They continued eating, with Luke trying to feed Ashton between bites, the older laughing and accepting the fork from Luke’s hands.
"Ash?" Luke whispered from his place sprawled in the couch, dummy in his mouth, and head in Ashton’s lap, looking up at him. "Yeah sweetie?" The curly-headed asked, a hand on the boy’s hip, caressing him over his shirt.
“Who called you?" At this, the older looked down at him, stopping his movements. "It wasn't important Lukey; don’t worry about it" he reassured him, offering a smile to the blond boy. The younger stared at him for a moment, calmly sucking on his pacifier, a blank expression in his face. He took Ashton’s shirt in his hands and turned over, burying his face in the older’s tummy, nuzzling his face against his shirt.
Ashton hated lying to Luke, but he wouldn't allow himself to tell the boy something that could possibly hurt him. Michael had called; he and Calum were going out to a bar nearby their place of work that night, and wanted Ashton to come along. He couldn't, he had to take care of Luke, he couldn't leave him alone, it was enough having to leave during the week to go to work; and they knew it, but insisted anyway, claiming that the boy would be fine on his own. Ashton knew better. He knew how much Luke missed him every time he had to go, even though probably not as much as Ashton missed him. The boy would bounce to him with the biggest smile on his face, the older of them almost having time to catch him in his arms. He would tell him what he did during the time alone, it wasn't much, playing by himself, reading the books Ashton always got for him, eating what the older had left prepared, or just look out from the window of the apartment waiting for him to arrive.
So no, Ashton wasn't going anywhere, no matter what his friends would say to try and convince him.
A small groan interrupted him from his thoughts. Looking down, he saw Luke frowning up at him, even though half his face was pressed against Ashton, making him look more adorable than demanding. "Something’s wrong, I can sense it" he said, earning a small laugh from the other. Sometimes Ashton forgets how much the blond boy knew him, after spending so much time together, he could see through his cheery attitude and somehow ‘sense’ when there was something off with the older lad, always taking him by surprise. "I promise it’s nothing important baby" he soothed the younger boy, caressing his hair. "You want me to make you a milkshake?" At the mention of his favorite drink, Luke dropped the subject immediately, nodding excitedly. "Alright then" before he could ask the boy to move so he could stand up, Luke was scrambling into his lap to cling to him. "Wanna go with you."
Sitting now on the couch with Luke in his lap, Ashton had realized already a while ago that there was no way he was going to finish watching the documentary of Coldplay anytime soon, when there was a rambling boy in front of him. Not that he minded really. "-And, did you know that like, one in fifty thousand penguins are born with brown plumage instead of black? They tend to live shorter than normal penguins though. Which it’s sad ‘cause it’s like they can’t be different" the blue-eyed boy informed, taking a sip of the drink from his sippy cup. "Oh yeah?" Ashton grinned, amused by Luke’s excitement over a Penguin Documental he saw the day before, and only now having the chance to tell the older about it.
"And why would that be?" He asked, intertwining his hands behind Luke’s lower back. "Because they’re not well camouflaged to be in the deep sea and other penguins don’t like them either" he explained, a hand playing with the hem of Ashton’s shirt, lifting the other to drink more from his milkshake. "Aw, that’s sad". The younger nodded in agreement. He moved closer to Ashton, and rested the side of his face in the curly-headed chest, who embraced the boy, planting a kiss at the top of his head. Luke finished his drink, dropping the sippy cup at his side on the couch. Ashton noticed and took it, lifting himself from the sofa; he headed to the kitchen, with the blond boy still in his arms, who didn't even flinch at the movement. The hazel-eyed put the cup in the sink and proceeded to remove the cap, supporting Luke in his hip, a hand in his rear to hold him. He washed the cup and let it there to dry.
Going back to the living room, he put the boy down on the sofa. "I’m gonna pee, I’ll be right back" the older of them said quickly, before leaving to the bathroom. Luke looked at him go and turned at the tv, seeing the credits of the documental. He lay back on the couch and picked his hacky sack, throwing it up in the air to catch it later, repeating the action multiple times until it fell out of his reach. Being too lazy to go and grab it, he rolled and pressed the side of his face against the cushion.
"Today has been a pretty lazy day huh?" Ashton commented, entering the room and catching sigh of Luke’s toy on the floor, he picked it up and put it beside him. He caught the boy quickly retracting his thumb from his mouth. Wordlessly, the older of them grabbed the pacifier on the small table and gently pushed it to Luke’s lips, smiling when he took it without complaint. "We need to correct that habit one of this days okay?" Ashton spoke softly. "Yeah" Luke replied, sitting up, he wrapped his arms around the older’s waist, looking up at him.
Ashton peered down at him, a look of complete adoration to the adorable sight of Luke in front of him with his baby blue eyes, disheveled golden hair and the dummy in his mouth. The older beamed warmly at him, petting his head, his other hand resting in Luke’s left shoulder.
Running his hand through the boy's hair, he realized something. "Want me to give you a bath Lukey? I haven't given you one in some time." He murmured the last part, a light sense of guilt filling him. He loved pampering Luke, either by giving him baths, bringing books for him to read or buying something sweet on the way back from work, anything to put a smile on his baby’s face. The fact that he hadn't had the chance of doing it in a while because of his work, made him feel like he had failed the boy. Which of course, was totally ridiculous, he was sure Luke would scold him for thinking that way.
He couldn't avoid it, he had promised to take care of the younger boy, to protect him and watch over him, Luke needed to be showered with love and Ashton wanted to give him absolutely everything. Since the day he had found him in that park, curled up in a bench crying his eyes out, just a 14 year old kid that had ran away from the orphanage. There was no way Ashton could leave him alone.
After taking him back to 'The Offspring Orphanage', he realized why he had escaped that hell hole; the organizers of the place barely paid close attention to the kids there, even when there weren't too many to begin with. They were all older than Luke, some reaching 18 years of age, making it almost impossible to get adopted. The blue-eyed had been in the place pretty much his whole life, having been left at the door of the orphanage when he was a baby, with only a note that read
‘Luke Hemmings. July 16, 1996’ and no explanation whatsoever.
After only three months of meeting the shy boy, he couldn't resist anymore the pained expression that would cross Luke's face every time he would leave after visiting him, or the way that he would cling to him in a tight embrace whenever he saw Ashton and hearing him whisper softly: 'I missed you', before leading him so they could play inside his room. So after much thinking and counting his entries, he decided he would adopt the kid.
He was nervous at first, on one part; he was a stable 21-year-old man, with a good job and a decent sized apartment. He could give Luke a nice life, at least one better than the one he had in the orphanage. However, he was afraid that his nice intentions and presentable image wouldn't be enough for them. What if they thought he was too young to take care of someone? or if he loses his job, what would they do? Either way, he needed to try.
Everything resulted easier than he expected, obviously the orphanage members weren’t sad to let Luke go. Instead of being happy because the boy had found a home, they celebrated the fact that there was a mouth less to feed.
Ashton knew he had made the right decision.
Within a year of living together, Ashton realized that the kid craved attention and care, and with Luke having the older lad trapped, with those pure blue eyes and chirpy personality, he was more than willing to give it to him, starting from the according attendance he did not receive as a baby.
With Luke being 16 now, things haven’t changed too much, besides the fact he had grew some good inches, but still managing to be slightly smaller than Ashton.
"When are Cal and Michael coming over again?" The golden-haired asked, looking up at Ashton, who reached for the shampoo and poured a bit on Luke’s head, massaging it afterwards, “I don’t know baby. What? Are you looking forward to see Mikey again huh? He chuckled. "It’s not that at all! It’s just been a while since they’ve been here" the younger exclaimed, drifting his eyes away from Ashton. "Hm are you sure? I see how your eyes get all sparkly when you see him" he continued teasing Luke, spilling water over his hair to wash off the foam produced. "That’s not true at all! Shut up geez" he mumbled the last part, ignoring the heat on his cheeks that gave him away. He tried to glare at the older, but with his soft features, it came out as a pout, which made Ashton laugh even more.
He continued bathing Luke, laughing at the way the blond boy would get all flustered with the mention of Michael, denying everything Ashton said to tease him, but making the older promise he would call the other adult to invite him and Calum over. The curly-headed finished and helped Luke up and out of the tub to dry him off, ending with his shirt and sweats soaked. Luke was pretty messy during his bath.
"Do you think that Michael would like-I mean-that he would-you know…Someone like me?" Luke asked from his place on the bed, sitting in only a diaper with his legs crossed, penguin plushie in hand. He looked up at the older boy shyly, who rummaged through the closet to find what to put on Luke. He also needed to do the washing, chores were accumulating. Finally he found a black loose long sleeved shirt, which he recalled was his, and dark-grey sweatpants. It was getting quite cold, and any chances of Luke getting sick were a big No-No.
"Well Lukey, you turned 16 like a month ago, and Michael is 21, there’s quite an age gap there" he tried to explain to the younger boy. He laid him on his back to raise the sweats up his legs; then sitting him up once again to put the shirt on him. "And Michael likes to do some stuff that you’re a bit too young for right now and I-"
"Is it sex? I think I’m ready, I’ve read some stuff online about it and it doesn’t seem too dangerous as longs as the right precautions are tak-"
"Wait wait wait wait! You did what?" he interrupted the rambling boy, eyes wide and a bewildered look on his face "What exactly have you been looking for Luke?" He questioned, stepping back to look straight at the smaller boy, folding his arms across his chest and an amused expression replacing his last one.
"I was just curious ‘cause you don’t really talk about that with me and Mikey said it was because you probably don’t get any, I don’t know what that meant though, what does that mean?" He babbled, while Ashton stood there speechless. Michael was for sure getting his ass beaten and a long lecture about why he should not corrupt his baby’s mind. He dreaded what else he could have told Luke.
"Alright you and Michael will not stay alone without any supervision anymore. Come on, let me put socks on you" he said, reaching to one of the boy’s feet to get him into the dark blue items, only for him to snatch it from his grasp "No, I’m already warm enough" the younger of them grunted, annoyed at the way the older changed the subject, something Luke absolutely hated. "I don’t need them."
"Lukey be good. The weather is getting more and more chilly" he tried again, receiving a kick that wasn’t intended to hurt him, but he dodged it anyway, along with an almost screech: "No! I don’t want it!" Luke scooted out of his reach, however the look he got from Ashton was enough to shake the bratty attitude out of him. "Come here Luke, behave" Ashton requested lowly, keeping eye contact, always so calm when Luke would put up an act, something the blond boy appreciated it even when he didn’t mention it. He decided to listen to the older and moved closer to the edge, his bare feet almost touching Ashton’s tights, who bent down to put the socks on Luke. "That’s it; all cozy and cute" he finished, back to his chirpy persona. "Look at you, why you gotta be such an adorable kid?" He smiled, clutching Luke’s cheeks playfully, gaining a giggle from him. "Okay so, it’s my turn to take a shower, stay here, and remember the floor is dirty so no walking around! I won’t take too long".
He left the boy while he washed himself, making sure to be quick but efficient. When he came back, dressed in black shorts and a dark-green long-sleeved shirt, he saw Luke lying on the bed, idly playing with the fur of his penguin. "Alright my boy, you wanna watch tv while I make dinner?" He lifted him from the bed, making his way to the living room, only stopping to retrieve the pacifier from the sink counter where he had left it while bathing Luke; he slipped it on the boy’s mouth and continued his path. He set the boy on the sofa and leaving a kiss on his forehead he left to the kitchen.
Halfway through cutting Luke’s sandwich, he heard the boy call out his name. "What is it Luke?" He called back.
"I wanna go there"
"Then co-" he stopped himself, reminding the reason why Luke didn’t walk to him, he smiled at the fact Luke behaved so well, always listening to Ashton’s every order, even though he still liked to act like the growing teen he was, giving Ashton a grumpy and snappy kid. But he was a very strict person, so Luke stood no chance against him, even with his cuteness, that only helped sometimes. Not always though.
"I’m coming baby" he smiled to the younger boy while entering the room, he picked him up and headed to the kitchen, setting Luke on the counter. "I’m almost done Lukey". When Ashton was done, he lifted the blue-eyed and sat him on one of the four chairs of their small table; he poured some apple juice on a glass in front of the boy and passed him his sandwich, taking a sit next to him, a meal already made for him. “Eat up kiddo” he said, ruffling the blond’s hair playfully. “Thank you Ash!” was the only response he got before Luke started devouring his sandwich. "No problem my baby."
After they finished and washed, Ashton was ready to call it a day, and by the way Luke was yawning every 10 seconds, he was too. He cooed at the sight of the boy curled on the corner of the couch in the dark, dummy in mouth, his face illuminated by the light of the screen in front of him. The room already covered by the darkness of the evening.
"Alright boy, time to sleep for both of us" Ashton announced, going to lift the boy up from his place. Luke peered up at the older’s voice, a look of distress and confusion displayed across his soft features. "But-" he stopped. "What’s the matter Lukey?" the hazel-eyed asked, picking him up anyway. "Nothing, forget it".
"Tell me what it is baby" he said, supporting Luke on his hip.
"Nothing, come on" Luke pleaded, turning his face away from Ashton to avoid his stare. "Luke don’t-" make me repeat myself Luke finished in his head; already heard it far too many times "I just-I want-you forgot-I think you forgot" he groaned in frustration, letting his head fall on Ashton’s shoulder, whispering to his neck: "My bottle" so soft, Ashton barely caught on. Right. Luke’s bottle, how could he have forgotten?
"Ah sh-", ''yeah yeah I forgot baby I’m so sorry. Let’s go make you a bottle okay?" he reassured him, lightly bouncing the boy on his hip. Luke wrapped his arms around the other’s neck, hugging him tightly.
Now with a warm bottle of milk, Ashton made his way to his room with Luke clung to him, the boy having convinced him of spending the night in his bedroom. He sat the younger boy on the bed and went to turn on the bedside lamp and turned off the room’s light, leaving it slightly dark with a yellowish and orange beam. He came back and sat against the headboard, motioning Luke to come to him, which he lazily complied, crawling to Ashton’s lap, throwing his legs at each side of the other’s hips and burying himself in his chest, hands automatically gripping the older’s shirt, turning his face to the side, and looked up at the other. The curly headed smiled down at him, pulling him closer than he could and removed the pacifier from Luke’s lips, bringing the bottle to the blue-eyed lips, who took it gladly, sinking more to Ashton’s toned pectoral.
The older caressed the blond’s locks with his free hand while he drank, the room completely silent except from the sounds coming from Luke whilst he sucked on the bottle.
"I’m so lucky to have you baby" Ashton blurted out, not being able to contain his thoughts. He was truly blessed to have Luke in his life, the smaller boy made everything better; he was always happy, always calming Ashton when he’d get back from work, greeting him with a huge smile. The way his eyes would brighten up every time he saw Michael, filling Ashton with more fond over the boy, who found all interesting and amazing, so curious over the smallest things the older wouldn’t even spare a second thought to. Luke was too pure for the world to corrupt, so Ashton had to keep him safe and sound, no matter what.
The blue-eyed looked up and frowned, confusion on his face. He stopped drinking and pushed Ashton’s hand away gently and pulled away from his body. "Why d’you say that? I’m the lucky one, to be adopted by you" Luke said honestly, snuggling his face in the older’s chest for a moment before speaking again, something that reminded Ashton of a small kitty. "You made my life better by getting me out of the orphanage. I owe you a lot" he ended, wrapping his arms around Ashton’s middle and sinking to his body once again, letting out a small whine to inform the other he wanted his bottle back.
The older gave back the bottle to Luke, a huge smile splitting his face; he kissed the top of the boy’s head. "You don’t owe anything sweetie, having you in my life is enough to make me happy" Luke didn’t respond to that, but beamed around the nip of the bottle and tightened his grip on Aston’s waist to assure him that he had listened.
When the boy was done, he rolled out of Ashton’s lap and reached to tug the other’s shirt so he would lay with him, something the older resisted, telling him: "Wait a sec Lukey, I have to wash the bottle."
"Nooo come sleep" Luke whined, now using both of his hands to hold onto Ashton’s shirt, not allowing him to get up properly. "Please baby I’ll be back soon and we’ll sleep okay?" He only received a grunt as response, but Luke let go, so he leaned a bit to plant a kiss on his forehead and left the room. He decided to just pour water into the bottle in leave it there for the morning, so he could go back faster to the sleepy boy waiting for him.
"Here I am!" the older announced a bit too loudly for Luke’s drowsy mood. He laid down next to him, and picked his body to put him on his lap. Luke let him, resting his head on Ashton’s chest. The curly-headed pulled the covers from behind his pillow and tucked both of them under them, slipping Luke's pacifier into the younger's mouth. He remembered in that moment that none of them had brushed their teeth. He sighed and resigned before the thought even crossed his mind, since he had a pretty cranky-when-he-didn’t-get-his-sleep boy on top of him. However his more responsible side was yelling at him, he looked for an answer in Luke, who had lifted his head to stare at Ashton, chin propped in the other’s chest, his eyes were droopy and het out a loud yawn, wiping his face on Ashton’s shirt after.
"Night Ash, I love you a lot" he said, finally dropping his head to sleep. The older beamed down at him, wrapping an arm around his lower back, the other reaching to turn off the lamp. "Good night my baby, I love you more" He told to the already asleep boy, closing his eyes, a warm and happy feeling filling him as he joined Luke in his sleep.